There's news in the
Star Wars Galaxies Forums (thanks Jody and Star Wars Galaxies)
from LucasArts producer Haden Blackman that beta three of the upcoming Star Wars
MMORPG has been pushed back, and that the release of the game will no longer be
on April 15. Here's the portion of the update described as the "'official'
message:"

"Star Wars Galaxies is now entering the final phase
of development, and everyone at LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment is
pleased with the game's progress since the beta test program was initiated.
We've received a good deal of constructive feedback and many positive
suggestions that, if executed, will genuinely enhance gameplay for the hundreds
of thousands of players who comprise the community.
To deliver the best possible massively multiplayer experience and ensure
stability and breadth of content, LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment will
delay the game's April 15 launch. This will enable us to invest more time into
the beta program, and to solicit additional feedback from the tremendous fan
base Star Wars Galaxies has already developed.

"In addition, we will not open phase three of the beta program until we
feel the game is ready for a wider audience, which we anticipate will be within
the next few weeks. A new release date for Star Wars Galaxies will be announced
shortly after the beginning of beta three.

"We are sincerely grateful to the Star Wars Galaxies community for their
tremendous support. We respectfully ask for their continued understanding and
patience during these final few months leading up to the launch of what we
believe will be one of the best MMOs to date."

You know it really isn't about the money. If I paid a one time fee and then paid monthly that would be fine. It's the whole coming up with an 'expansion' pack after 6 months giving functionality in the first place....so by the end of the f*(&*(ing year you've spend $200 on one freaking game. THAT is ridiculous. If the subscription fee included updates to gameplay now THAT would be reasonable.

Sony knows most people cannot spend as much time in SWG as lifeless dorks do, so they are taking steps to make this game useable for casual players too. They are doing the same with PlanetSide. Developing your character in both games is not a matter of how many hours you spend in the game. It's how you use the hours you do spend.

One example, taken from the FAQ:

1.05 What if I don't have a lot of time to play this game? Will I still be able to play with my friends who do?

We wanted to avoid power differentials that prevent hard-core gamers and the more casual gamers from playing together, so the two will be able to play together fruitfully. The game isn't level-based, so "high-level" characters don't have many times the "hit points" than lower level characters. This means that you can still be part of a viable group with your friends, even if they've been playing the game for many more hours.

This comment was edited on Mar 18, 12:17.

--He cut the possum's face off then cut around the eye socket. In the center of the belt buckle, where the possum's eye would be, he has placed a small piece of wood from his old '52 Ford's home made railroad tie bumper. Damn, he misses that truck.

The only thing fun about mmorpg is the huge amount of content, but to see most of it you practically have to live on the game trying to advance to a point you can handle exploring further. There hasn't been a mmorpg yet that has catered to people that just want to jump on for small blocks of time and actually have fun. The losers that want to spend 8-14 hours a day on a mmorpg are getting their moneys worth sure, but I've got better things to do. For me gaming is a hobby, not something that I want to spend that amount of time doing. I doubt SWG will be any different in that aspect. From what I've read of planetside, It sounds as though it could cater better to people that dont spend massive amounts of time in a session. To each his own.

--He cut the possum's face off then cut around the eye socket. In the center of the belt buckle, where the possum's eye would be, he has placed a small piece of wood from his old '52 Ford's home made railroad tie bumper. Damn, he misses that truck.

For every Day the Game is delayed, It gets a little better. Good things come to those who wait. I knew In feburary that they wouldn't make april because they were just starting BETA. Same with planetside. But wait a little and we will be rewarded.

Will a monthly fee be required to play? Yes. Price still to be determined. This fee will go toward the cost of bandwidth, server maintenance, continuous feature improvements and content updates, as well as customer support.

Good for them. I'm all for dev's taking their time and polishing their games as much as possible. Of course, DNF not withstanding.

I do understand how folks can get their hopes up and look forward to playing a game at a certain release date. But, to get upset because a game is delayed, hopefully to make it better, I don't understand this.